Excursions on the Middle East, politics, the Levant, Islam in politics, civil society, and courage in the face of unbridled, otherwise unchecked power.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Veteran scholar of Bahrain reflects on the present situation

Emile Nakheh, whose seminal Bahrain is well known to Gulf scholars, reflects in an interview with the Bahrain Mirror (Arabic or English) on developments in Bahrain, including the U.S. and Saudi connections.
A key point:

"The US so far has not used its considerable leverage with Al Khalifa to force a dialogue with the opposition. As many analysts had anticipated, the Saudi military intervention has failed to quash the uprising despite the virulent attitude toward the Shia community. On the contrary, it has energized the opposition despite continued regime repression, has empowered the anti-Shia hardliners within the Al Khalifa family, and has indirectly marginalized the King and his son the Crown Prince."